Trikes not the major cause of traffic mess

The worsening
traffic congestion of the city streets cannot solely be blamed to the existence
of tricycles since there are only 2, 500 franchises issued every year from 1996
according to the Traffic Management Office.

The main traffic obstacles are the big cargo trucks which city hall allows to ply the main streets because of pressures from businessmen on election year. The public is prejudiced. The diversion road is not yet used. And the public is suffering. Why is city hall punishing the road users?

Another sad fact is many franchise holders are
exceeding their limits in tricycle ownerships because lots of franchises have
been illegally sold to other people and the City knows this and are tolerating
it.

There
are also colorum drivers who drive “as extras” at night till dawn just to earn
a few bucks even if they are not legally registered as the drivers of such
tricycle.

Hence,
the number of tricycles units has stayed at 2, 500, in fact, the number of
tricycles actually operating dropped further as some franchise holders merely
renewed them without actually using the unit or have surrendered the same. Some
were sold to third parties.

According
to Mr. Danny Atillo of the TMO, the traffic congestion can be also be partly
attributed to the increasing number of private vehicles and motorcycles many of
them parked illegally in the city’s already narrow streets particularly during
,rush hour.

It
is also to be considered that the city has a growing population confined in the
smallest Local Government Unit in Negros Oriental being the center of trade and
commerce.

That
is the why, the Discipline Zone Project was implemented to clear all
obstructions in a major strip of national road from the city limit in Sibulan
until Robinson Dumaguete.

The
TMO is also firm in its policy to impose sanctions and penalized tricycle
drivers who are guilty of offenses such as refusal to convey passengers,
overloading, discourtesy, overcharging, reckless driving, etc provided that
formal complaints are filed and appropriate investigations establish the
liability of the drivers.Mayor Felipe Antonio
Remollo along with the members of the Bids and Awards Committee have already
been presented with at least two proposals for a traffic lights system in the
city, which would be the next big project of the administration after the
awarding of the multi-million contract to PLDT for the installation of 330 CCTV
cameras in major streets that is expected to be completed in March or June
2019. The CCTV system will help the administration monitor and manage traffic.